Thursday, September 27, 2012

Now that "See You at the Pole" is over. Your students have gathered and prayed..what do you do now?? Consider giving them and the adults of your church a 21 prayer challenge!

"Pray21 is a simple, 21-day prayer challenge for your congregation to pray with
this generation for God's call on their life. Since the launch of this
campaign in 2007, thousands of churches in dozens of nations have
experienced the power of Pray21 and empowered youth to own their faith and lead their ministry.

During
this 3-week period, the youth of your church connect with adult prayer
partners to seek their place in the cause of Jesus Christ. As a result of this
experience, young people realize their significance in God's Kingdom,
they learn more about their calling, and they step forward to accomplish
His plan in their lives."

The awesome people at "Youth Worker Circuit" are throwing out some FREEBIES to the the Youth Worker Crowd....No Pushing or Shoving. There is enough for everyone!! They are chucking out 150 youth ministry logos and graphics. There is nice variety of stuff from logos for your ministry to day to day announcement and lesson graphics. Enjoy, use well, and if you have a minute send them a nice little thank you or a virtual high five! Also check out the rest of their site and consider signing up for subscription for more resource and youth ministry helps!

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Taking another classic and giving it a good twist for your next youth night, event or outdoor hang out time!

Supplies:
- Wiffle ball bat or Fat Bat
- 4 baseball bases or something you can use as bases
- A wide variety of ball replacements (*see list below)
- A container (box,bag..) to keep all the replacement "balls" secret

Explanation:
Very simple rules and idea. You are going to be playing a wacky game of wiffleball/baseball using a variety of items as replacements for the ball. Same basic rules as wiffle ball including that you can throw the "ball" and hit someone to get them out. Two addition to the rules that we add is: 1.) you can have as many people on a base at a time as you like, but only one person can run to the next base at a time. It keeps it from being one massive herd of people running at a time. 2.) There are no strike outs. Determine for your group and game where and what is a home run, if you would like. If you are inside use the back wall as a home run or if you are outside mark a line somehow.

Keep all the replacement balls secret in a container by the pitcher, so that the batter never knows what is being pitched until it come flying!

As always like any good backyard or youth group version of wiffeball make up whatever "house rules" you like for your group to add to the fun. Change things each time your play or each inning. Like: "this inning you have to run the base in reverse", "you have to skip around the bases", etc...

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Greetings Readers and Fellow Youth Workers!!
Thanks for being a part of my little experiment and also your patience. I am no media guru or youth ministry guru either. I am just an average everyday youth worker doing the day in and day out life with students. Everyone has been extremely gracious and thank you for all your positive comments here, on facebook, on twitter and elsewhere. This little spot has had over 10,000 visits in just under a year. I hope it has helped you, and others you know. Please feel free to help me back, by giving me suggestions, ideas, or your thoughts. My desire and absolute hope is continue to share what ever I have and find and to fill this space a mainly Jr. High and Middle School content.
I am writing a quick little piece today, because I am trying get better at this and also get a little more organized. I also want you as readers to have a more consistent expectation and schedule for what is here each week. I decided a while ago to create a bit of a weekly schedule for myself, for various reasons. I have tried it out for a couple months. I want to give it bit of thought, about what and when things might best be posted each week. I based it on the average week of ministry. Here is my idea and hope for a weekly schedule and also a monthly schedule. So now you know if you visit on a certain day what you might hope to find?

Let's
face it: 2012 hasn't been a great year for the pop album. Sure,
it's been an excellent year for the pop single, but when the year's
biggest sellers are 2011 releases from Adele and One Direction, pop
fans have been chomping at the bit for an album that will set the
tone for what radio might sound like for the next year or two.

Pink's "The Truth About Love" could very well be that album. Teaming her
with first-time collaborators like Greg Kurstin, Jeff Bhasker and
Semisonic's Dan Wilson, pairing her once again with heavy-hitters
Max Martin, Shellback, Butch Walker and Billy Mann and featuring
guest spots (rarities for a Pink album) from fun.'s Nate Ruess, Eminem and Lily Rose Cooper (a.k.a. Lily Allen),
"The Truth About Love" is a peerlessly witty, endlessly melodic
tour de force. The album has moments that will make Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Adam Lambert and countless others who've followed in Pink's footsteps calling their A&R guys immediately to recreate them.

There's also a wealth of material to choose from. Due Tuesday
at retail and digital outlets, the album will come in at least two
different deluxe editions - one at Target, with four exclusive bonus
tracks, the other at iTunes with two of its own extra cuts. Which
are the best cuts? Check out our track-by-track review of "The Truth
About Love's" deluxe Target edition.

1. Are We All We Are
- An anthemic call-to-arms penned with Butch Walker, John Hill and
Lana Del Rey producer Emile Haynie, "Are We All We Are" has a
self-empowerment message that picks up where 2010 mega-hit "Raise
Your Glass" left off. "We are the people that you'll never get the
best of / Not forget the rest of / Just sing it loud until the kids
will sing it right back," she sings.

2. Blow Me (One Last Kiss)Already
a top 10 Hot 100 hit, the cheekily titled "Blow Me (One Last Kiss)"
is perhaps most representative of the album's overall spirit -
state-of-the art production (courtesy of Greg Kurstin), playful,
occasionally foul-mouthed lyrics and a narrative that finds the
singer contemplating the end of her tumultuous 10-year relationship
with motocross star Carey Hart ("I think I finally had enough / I
think I maybe think too much") - complete with a mid-chorus key
change that Pink has already cursed Kurstin over in her thank-you
notes.

3. Try
- Prepped as the album's second single, "Try" (another Kurstin
production) is a handclap-heavy ode to taking risks with love, no
matter the consequences. "Where there is desire there is gonna be a
flame / Where there is a flame someone's bound to be get burned /
But just because it burns doesn't mean you're gonna die / You gotta
get up and try," she sings on the chorus. With a melody reminiscent
of "Whataya Want From Me," the 2009 hit she penned for Adam
Lambert, the single already pairs well sonically with Pink's
catalog.

4. Just Give Me A Reason feat. Nate Ruess
- Fun. fans, take note - this duet with the band's lead singer
Nate Ruess (produced by "We Are Young" helmer Jeff Bhasker) would
fit right at home on "Some Nights." Although it's a little jarring
to hear Pink's raw, live vocals paired with Ruess' Auto-Tune, it's
ultimately a less-schmaltzy version of those male/female duets found
at the end credits of every 80s movie.

5. True Love feat. Lily Rose Cooper
- Perhaps the album's brightest moment, Pink defines "True Love"
the best way she knows it. "You're an a------ but I love you / And
you make me so mad I ask myself / Why I'm still here or where
could I go." With a giant chorus and a welcome cameo from Lily Rose
Cooper (reuniting with Kurstin, the producer of 2009's "It's Not Me
It's You"), "True Love" deserves to be one of Pink's signature
songs.

6. How Come You're Not Here
- A bluesy, glam-rock stomper with expert production from
multi-instrumentalist Kurstin, "How Come You're Not Here" features
one of Pink's most distinct vocal performances to date - the fact
that its chorus begs for fist-pumps and stadium stomping doesn't
hurt, either.

P!nk Covers Our Latest Issue!

7. Sl-- Like You
- What do you get when you cross a riff and a "Woohoo" reminiscent
of Blur's "Song 2," a couple "Scarface" references ("you'll be my
little friend") and a monster Max Martin melody? One of the funniest
post-feminist approaches to the sociological question, "If a guy
can be a player, why can't a girl?"

8. The Truth About Love
- Much like "True Love," the album's title track finds Pink
contemplating the secret - or lack thereof - to a long-lasting bond.
"The truth about love / is it's blood and it's guts / Purebreds and
mutts, sandwiches without the crust," she sings in one of many
great couplets.

9. Beam Me Up
- A heartfelt acoustic ballad about taking a break from reality
("Beam me up / Let me be lighter / I'm tired of bein' a fighter / I
think a minute's enough"), "Beam Me Up" recalls some of the quietest
moments that also made "Funhouse" such an emotionally compelling
album. An ace collaboration with Billy Mann.

10. Walk Of Shame
- If you thought "Sl-- Like You" and "Blow Me" were fun, get ready
for "Walk of Shame," which is about exactly what you think it is. To
reveal any of its lyrics would deny the listener of the song's many
surprising charms.

11. Here Comes The Weekend feat. Eminem

A
reunion with both Eminem and producer DJ Khalil following 2010's
"Won't Back Down," the song is also a sequel of sorts to "Get This
Party Started" but without a hook or chorus quite as memorable. One
of the album's weaker tracks, "Here Comes The Weekend" at least
features a few random P. Diddy disses from Eminem's welcome guest
rap. 12. Where Did The Beat Go?
- An apt title for this midtempo track, Pink questions what
happened to the pace of a once hot-and-heavy relationship. With
military drums and multi-layered use of Pink's vocals, "Where Did
The Beat Go?" also features some of the album's best lyrics.

13. The Great Escape
- Ending the main album track list on a somber but hopeful note,
"The Great Escape" is addressed to both a friend of Pink's who
contemplated suicide and to anyone going through a rough patch. A
collaboration with Dan Wilson (who co-wrote Adele's "Someone Like
You"), "The Great Escape" is a showcase for some of Pink's most
personal lyrics to date on the bridge alone - "I wrote the book on
running / But that chapter in my life / Will soon be done oh /
I'm the kind of the great escpae / you're not gonna watch me
checkin' out of this place / You're not gonna lose me."

14. My Signature Move (Target exclusive)
- Instantly dispelling the myth that bonus tracks are just
leftovers, "My Signature Move" (the first of three bonus cuts
co-penned with Butch Walker) has one of the best choruses Pink has
written in years, and is worth the extra cash on its own.

15. Is This Thing On? (Target exclusive)
- With a hushed but rhythmic intro that brings to mind 2006's
"Who Knew," "Is This Thing On?" eventually builds to a danceable
climax - the closest she lets herself get to a four-on-the-floor
moment.

16. Run (Target exclusive)
- A power ballad that would fit right at home on an 80s movie
soundtrack, "Run" is another chance for Pink to bare her soul at the
listener's expense. "I've got scars you won't believe / wear them
proudly on my sleeve / I hope you have the sense to know / that
sadness comes and sadness goes," she sings.

17. Good Old Days (Target exclusive)
- Imagine Janis Joplin covering Colbie Caillat, and you can almost
imagine the uniquely sunny yet hard-edged vibe Pink manages to
capture on this track she co-penned with Billy Mann and David
Schuler. A refreshing, live-in-the-moment message to end the album.